McCain, Schumer Witness Woman Scale Ariz. Border Fence

U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., right, and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., left, stand with U.S. Border Patrol agents during a tour of the Mexico-U.S. border on March 27 in Nogales, Ariz. McCain tweeted that he witnessed a woman successfully climb the 18-foot fence.

A woman successfully scaled an 18-foot fence along the Arizona-Mexico border Wednesday just yards from four U.S. senators who were on a fact-finding trip focused on immigration reform legislation now under consideration in Congress.

Arizona Sen. John McCain tweeted about the incident live from the scene, Fox News reported Thursday.

“Just witnessed a woman successfully climb an 18-ft bollard fence a few yards from us in #Nogales,” the Republican lawmaker said.

“Border Patrol successfully apprehended her, but incident is another reminder that threats to our border security are real,” he tweeted again a few minutes later.

In addition to McCain, the incident was witnessed by Arizona GOP Sen. Jeff Flake and Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York and Michael Bennet of Colorado. All are members of the so-called “Gang of Eight” now engaged in crafting a comprehensive immigration reform package in the Senate.

Just a few days before, McCain told reporters, according to the Associated Press, “I wish every member of the United States Senate and Congress could see the border. Only when you can see the expanse, the difficulties, and the challenges of the border, can you really appreciate the need for our border security.”

The Gang of Eight is expected to make public the details of their immigration reform package by April 8.